Quality not quantity as winner Hingis plans a rest

The world may see a little less of Martina Hingis this year. The 17-yearold Czech-born Swiss, who on Saturday retained her Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Spain's Conchita Martinez, intends to cut down on her schedule, and spend a lot more time riding her horses.

Yesterday, she jetted off to Tokyo for the $926,250 Toray Pan Pacific Open, but after that there will be no more tennis until March, when Hingis will compete again at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne.

"I was really tired at the end of last year and played just too much. I always knew that this year the expectations and pressures would be greater, so I need to regulate the tournaments a little more carefully," Hingis said.

"Last year, nobody expected me to win, but this year, everybody expects me to. It was so much harder to defend a title than get it the first time. I mean, Kournikova in the third round was not easy, while Pierce in the quarters and Anke (Huber) in the semis wasn't exactly a walk in the park!"

Hingis's natural exuberance continues to shine through when she is relaxed, but there was no doubting the slightly careworn edge to much of her play in these championships. Quite frankly, Saturday's final was a slog.

Martinez, who won Wimbledon (and how incongruous that now seems) as a 22-year-old in 1994, had enough experience and guile to make it difficult for Hingis, but if the champion had been at the peak of her form and fitness, she would have cut the Spaniard down in half the time.

Hingis had a cold, but although she regained much of her old speed and assurance around the court in the second week, having struggled to beat Anna Kournikova in three sets earlier, her preparations were clearly less than ideal. As at Roland Garros last year, when she returned from her riding accident, she was a little overweight and consequently a shade slow.

She lost to Iva Majoli in the French final; on this occasion there was nobody to take advantage of her vulnerability. But the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are waiting to pounce, along with Kournikova and her scratch-winning doubles partner Mirjana Lucic, who has also become a close friend.

Hingis will probably always prepare for the Grand Slams in her own idiosyncratic way. She arrived in London last year at the last minute, but still lifted the title. However, she will need to be careful not to underdo her preparations, for the opposition is growing ever stronger and hungrier.

And it is not just the teenagers. Martinez has obviously worked extremely hard, as has her fellow Spaniard, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, and Germany's Huber. Indeed, the year ahead promises to be highly competitive, with Hingis particularly keen to win at Roland Garros, the one Grand Slam to have eluded her.

And can she win the lot this year ? "Well, I've started with a win," she smiled.

The Details

Australian Open in Melbourne

Men's singles final: (6) P Korda (Cze) bt (9) M Rios (Chi) 6-2 6-2 6-2.

Women's singles final: (1) M Hingis (Swi) bt (8) C Martinez (Spa) 6-3 6-3.

Men's doubles final: (5) J Bjorkman (Swe) and J Eltingh (Ned) bt (1) T Woodbridge and M Woodforde (Aus) 6-2 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-3.

Mixed doubles final: V Williams (USA) and J Gimelstob (USA) bt (5) C Suk (Cze) and H Sukova (Cze) 6-2 6-1.